Whenever you allow people to work together it usually results in fuss and bother. This is often frustrating and tiring, but once people click, teamwork can be amazing. Being part of a team that has a clear goal and functions well is one of the best experiences you as a person can have.

Unfortunately, peak experiences during teamwork are relatively rare; less than 10% of teams consider themselves to be best-performing. Why is that?

Research into hundreds of teams has shown that the answer lies in the dynamics and energy within a team. For this reason, the focus on team energy is reflected in our team development interventions with which we not only improve results, but also increase job satisfaction and the growth of the team.

The difference between a group and a team

Do you work in a group or a team? This may seem a strange question as many people don’t think there is a difference. But we have noticed that many employees and managers are insufficiently trained to perform as a team. They continue to think and act on the basis of the group concept and miss this switch in the development of their team.

A few differences:

• Reason for existence: a group is created for administrative reasons; for example, to cut out a management layer. But there is no sense of cohesiveness. In a team, the members share the realisation that by working together they will be able to achieve a goal that is greater than each person’s individual strength.
• Role familiarity: in a group, people know little about the knowledge and tasks of the other group members. In teams, people understand how others contribute to the final result. This helps to streamline the process.
• Conflict resolution: in a group, members look to the manager in the event of conflict. He is the one who has to ensure that problems with collaboration have to be solved. Within teams, members actually feel connected and take responsibility for mutual collaboration.

If you look at it this way, a team is far more than a group. A high-performing team goes even further.

What are high-performing teams?

Some teams appear to fly high, while other teams struggle with every step they take. Why is that? But, even more to the point, how can you transform a struggling, faltering team into one that can achieve results together? Where people can work together constructively, use one another’s talents, have the courage to share success and disappointment and enjoy going to work?

We’ve asked thousands of people about the best team they’ve ever worked in. What characteristics distinguished this team from normal teams? You can see a pattern emerging from their answers; a few aspects of their experience with team development that often recur.

• One-third of the characteristics of strong teams mentioned involved reason
• Two-thirds of the characteristics involved

Both kinds of characteristics must be represented in a team. If that is not the case, problems will arise immediately in a team. But allow the above-mentioned to sink in for a moment; the majority of the success factors in team development involve feelings!

Energy in teams

Dr. Cees van der Zwan is a partner at COURIUS and obtained his doctorate with a thesis on the factors of team success. His research into 250 teams showed that where energy exists in a team, the team members perform 40% more effectively. Such teams also have a lower turnover of staff, fewer cases of non-attendance and there is a pleasant work atmosphere. Furthermore, each team has energy sources and energy guzzlers and four types of energy play a vital role in every team. These are:

1. Productive energy
2. Comfort energy
3. Stress and corrosion
4. Resignation and passivity

The balance between these four types of energy determines how a team tackles the day-to-day challenges. It also offers you four opportunities to influence and direct the energy within a team in a positive way. This is how you lay the foundation for an improved atmosphere and for better results.

Team development process: from team to top team

Our team development and team coaching focus on two aspects that together determine the success of a team: productivity (goals and results) and positivity (culture, trust, collaboration). The energy within a team is the key to increasing both the productivity and the positivity.

With our team development process, we help teams to improve themselves and to become a high-performing team which:

• Adapts itself quickly and skilfully to changing circumstances
• Establishes goals together to which team members commit themselves
• Uses any conflicts effectively for the benefit of team goals
• Has a broad mix of skills at its disposal
• Ensures that team members feel supported and challenged
• Takes decisions faster
• Has a sustainable, pleasant atmosphere with inspired team members

During these processes, we always work with an objective baseline assessment and a progress assessment. This shows you directly what progress has been made. We see that our interventions deliver on average a 20% improvement with respect to the productivity and positivity team factors.

Our clients

We are fully committed to strengthening and enhancing teams, managers and organisations.